do med lab scientists report patient lab resukts

What is the importance of research in medical laboratory science?

The data they find plays an important role in identifying and treating cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other medical conditions. It is estimated 60 to 70 percent of all decisions regarding a patient's diagnosis, treatment, hospital admission, and discharge are based on the results of the tests medical laboratory scientists perform.

What is the work environment of a medical lab scientist?

Work environment Medical lab scientists work in hospitals, clinics, forensic or public health laboratories, as well as pharmaceutical industries, biotechnology companies, veterinary clinics, or research institutions. Depending on the setting, their work hours may vary; but typically labs are run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What does a medical laboratory scientist (MLS) do?

A medical laboratory scientist (MLS), also known as a medical technologist or clinical laboratory scientist, works to analyze a variety of biological specimens. They are responsible for performing scientific testing on samples and reporting results to physicians.

What percentage of medical decisions are based on lab results?

It is estimated 60 to 70 percent of all decisions regarding a patient's diagnosis, treatment, hospital admission, and discharge are based on the results of the tests medical laboratory scientists perform.

What does a medical lab scientist do?

Medical laboratory scientists perform complex tests on patient samples using sophisticated equipment like microscopes. The data they find plays an important role in identifying and treating cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other medical conditions.

What are the main roles of the clinical laboratory personnel?

People working in the clinical laboratory are responsible for conducting tests that provide crucial information for detecting, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring disease.

Do medical laboratory scientists draw blood?

Depending on where they work, medical lab scientists may draw blood from patients for laboratory testing. This typically occurs at smaller health clinics, blood banks, and labs where medical staff are required to perform multiple roles within their specialty.

What is the difference between medical laboratory science and medical laboratory technology?

The only difference between a medical technologist and a clinical laboratory scientist is the actual job title. These two professions involve the same exact training, job duties and credentials.

What are the duties and responsibilities of a medical technologist?

Medical technologists conduct laboratory tests, procedures, experiments, and analyses to provide data for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. They analyze bodily fluids like blood, urine, and spinal fluid, to determine the presence of normal and abnormal components.

Can medical laboratory scientist become a doctor?

Medical lab scientists can become medical doctors by following the same education path as other aspiring doctors by attending medical school.

Can a medical laboratory scientist become a nurse?

With a degree in Medical Laboratory Science, going to a nursing school is the best choice as you do not need to go to a university to begin practice when you become a Registered Nurse.

Are Medical Laboratory Scientists happy?

At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, medical laboratory technologists rate their career happiness 2.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 16% of careers.

Do Medical Laboratory Scientists wear scrubs?

They look like the short white jackets the medical students wear but they're red and clearly marked volunteer. Volunteers don't wear scrubs unless instructed to.

Can a Medical Laboratory Scientist become a pharmacist?

Can a medical laboratory scientist become a pharmacist? Yes a Medical Laboratory Scientist can become a Pharmacist by applying for Direct entry or Post graduate entry to study Pharmacy.

What is the difference between a medical technologist and a medical laboratory technologist?

The main distinction between a medical technologist and a medical lab technician is that technologists can conduct more complex experiments than technicians. Technologists are also trained to run manual tests, which technicians do not to do. Also, technologists may supervise and train technicians in the lab.

What is the salary of Medical Laboratory Science?

Medical LAB Scientist SalaryAnnual SalaryMonthly PayTop Earners$111,000$9,25075th Percentile$101,000$8,416Average$77,154$6,42925th Percentile$55,000$4,583

Medical Laboratory Scientist Scope of Work

Medical laboratory scientists work closely with doctors and technicians in diagnosing and monitoring diseases, as well as tracking the effectiveness of treatments. As cited by WebMD, some of their responsibilities and duties include:

Medical Laboratory Scientist Workplace

In order to complete their duties, medical laboratory scientists require highly specialized equipment. This equipment includes hematology analyzers, microscopes, DNA analyzers, blood gas analyzers, urinalysis analyzers, histology and cytology equipment, incubators, and more.

Medical Laboratory Scientist Career Outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of medical laboratory scientists is expected to grow by 6% between 2019 and 2029. This is faster than the national average for all occupations. As Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials age, there will be an increased need for medical testing.

Becoming a Medical Laboratory Scientist

As this is a highly technical field, there are specific educational and licensing requirements that individuals must fulfill before they can work as a medical laboratory scientist.

What is the role of a medical laboratory?

The data they find plays an important role in identifying and treating cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other medical conditions. It is estimated 60 to 70 percent of all decisions regarding a patient's diagnosis, treatment, ...

What is the difference between a medical lab technician and a lab scientist?

While similar, there are a few key differences between a medical lab scientist and a medical lab technician. They both work in the lab and perform tests on biological samples, however, a medical lab scientist typically has more education and is able to perform more involved lab work. A medical lab technician performs more ...

What is a medical laboratory assistant?

A medical laboratory assistant is a subgroup of medical laboratory technician. They are responsible for preparing biological specimens, recording information, and perform more of the lab maintenance tasks such as cleaning equipment and stocking supplies. A medical laboratory scientist will work with a medical laboratory assistant by analyzing their prepared specimens and relaying information for them to record.

What are the areas of medical laboratory training?

Areas of medical laboratory training include microbiology, chemistry, hematology, immunology, transfusion medicine, toxicology, and molecular diagnostics. Medical laboratory scientists have a wide variety of responsibilities and duties, including: Examining and analyzing blood, body fluids, tissues, and cells.

What percentage of hospital admissions are based on laboratory tests?

It is estimated 60 to 70 percent of all decisions regarding a patient's diagnosis, treatment, hospital admission, and discharge are based on the results of the tests medical laboratory scientists perform.

What do you need to become a medical laboratory scientist?

After obtaining a high school diploma (or the equivalent), most will go on to obtain some level of higher education and training in order to become a medical laboratory scientist.

What is the best skill to perform a medical laboratory?

Excellent eye-hand coordination, dexterity, and visual acuity are important to skillfully perform and analyze tests. Individuals that love science and research, but prefer to have little-to-no interaction with patients, would be a good fit for the medical laboratory scientist career.

Medical Laboratory Scientist Career Path

Learn how to become a Medical Laboratory Scientist, what skills and education you need to succeed, and what level of pay to expect at each step on your career path.

Medical Laboratory Scientist Insights

Read what Medical Laboratory Scientist professionals have to say about their job experiences and view top companies for this career.

How to ensure that test results are communicated appropriately to patients?

To ensure that test results are communicated appropriately to patients, physicians should adopt, or advocate for, policies and procedures to ensure that: The patient (or surrogate decision maker if the patient lacks decision-making capacity) is informed about when he or she can reasonably expect to learn the results of clinical tests ...

How are test results conveyed?

Test results are conveyed sensitively, in a way that is understandable to the patient/surrogate, and the patient/surrogate receives information needed to make well-considered decisions about medical treatment and give informed consent to future treatment.

What is the obligation of a physician to be considerate of patients?

Physicians have a corresponding obligation to be considerate of patient concerns and anxieties and ensure that patients receive test results within a reasonable time frame. When and how clinical test results are conveyed to patients can vary considerably in different practice environments and for different clinical tests.

Who is the first to see the results of a medical test?

In many cases, the physician receives the results and has assessed them for changes or abnormalities. However, at some medical facilities, medical assistants are the first to see the data, and can point out potential problem areas to the physician before he or she sees the patient.

Why is the doctor-patient relationship important?

The doctor-patient relationship is one of the most important aspects in healthcare. This relationship keeps patients taking their medication and prevents lawsuits.

What is the algorithm for breaking bad news to patients called?

There is an algorithm for how to break bad news to patients, even, called SPIKES. It’s best for the patient to hear both good and bad lab results from the physician, but if you as the medical assistant are tasked with this, it’s helpful to know how to handle it.

Why is it important to do a routine electrolyte test?

It’s helpful to ease patient’s anxiety by explaining that this was a routine test that was done as part of the physical examination, to get a baseline for their values, or to understand if there was a specific reason for their illness that could be explained by any aberration in the blood levels of their electrolytes.

Can you diagnose patients with a medical assistant?

This is extremely vital to remember. When becoming a medical assistant, one of the first things you’ll learn is that you should not diagnose patients or give them information on blood work, imaging studies, biopsy results, or anything of that sort unless told by a provider that it’s okay.

Do medical assistants give lab work?

Other times, the medical assistant will briefly educate the patient on their lab work, with permission from the provider. It’s important not to give information to the patient unless given the go-ahead from the physician. This is extremely vital to remember.

Roles and Responsibilities in the Lab

There are a variety of positions within a clinical laboratory, and roles are based on a career ladder of academic and technical milestones.

Specialized Roles

Pathologists’ assistants are usually responsible for the gross examination and dissection of tissue samples sent to the anatomic pathology lab and may perform or assist pathologists with autopsies (the postmortem examination of a body). They usually have a Master’s degree and are certified by the ASCP BOC.

Career Opportunities as a Laboratory Professional

Many laboratories are looking for professionals, ranging from individuals who have a two-year associate’s degree to those with advanced degrees and experience.

More on Laboratory Careers

Clinical scientists accounted for 335,700 jobs in 2016. About half of these jobs were in hospitals; the remainder were in clinics, doctor’s offices, blood banks, and independent clinical, forensic, and research laboratories, or with the government (such as the Public Health Service).

Ivan Yong Follow

As saying goes there is nothing perfect in this world; same goes to career choices. There are always pros and cons of each occupation and an importance for its existence. Likewise, being a medical laboratory technologist/scientist is neither a bad job nor the best available.

Julie L. Rosales

You bring up valid points about the "issues" of being a Med Tech. I think that recongition outside of the laboratory is an important issue too. You stated "In my opinion, career progression may be a psychological problem" and I feel I could argue this point.